1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of printing, and more particularly to apparatus for printing designs and text on cylindrical objects.
2. Background Art
Two common printing techniques are "offset" and "flexographic" printing. Both of these techniques involve the transfer of an image from an engraved master printing plate onto another object.
In offset printing, the image is not transferred directly from the master plate to the printed object. Instead, the image is first transferred from the master plate to an intermediate blanket or roller. This intermediate blanket or roller is typically made of rubber or another resilient material, and has a flat surface that retains the ink deposited by the master plate. From the intermediate blanket or roller, the image is transferred to the printed object. The resilient surface provided by the intermediate blanket or roller conforms to surface irregularities of the object being printed and allows the printing of high quality images on many different textures. It protects the master plate from excessive wear as well.
In flexographic printing, the master printing plate itself is made from resilient rubber or plastic. The image can therefore be transferred directly from the master plate to the printed object with substantially the same benefits with respect to print quality provided by the intermediate blankets or rollers used in offset printing.